


The Golden Rule

by respoftw



Series: Tumblr Prompts - McShep edition [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Allergies, Implied Relationships, Kidnapping, M/M, POV Outsider, Protective John, Sacrifice, Spoilers for Episode: s04e09 Millers Crossing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7387615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Atlantis has one golden rule: Do not, under any circumstances, let anything bad happen to McKay</p><p>UPDATED with second chapter 20th July 2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [popkin16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/popkin16/gifts), [randommindtime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/randommindtime/gifts).



> Popkin16 asked for some protective!John so here's my contribution to one of my favourite SGA tropes

Being stationed on any military base came with its own rules. Unofficial rules that governed the soldiers and kept the peace more effectively than any edicts from on high.

Atlantis was no different in that respect. The new recruits soon learned that the sparring room on level 4 belonged to Ronon, that coffee was worth its weight in gold and could be traded for literally anything you could think of and that harvest festivals were the worst form of discipline that they would ever face.

Above _all_ of that, the absolute golden rule of Atlantis, was this: **Do not, under any circumstances, let anything bad happen to McKay.**

Every now and then, a new recruit would meet McKay before he meets McKay-and-Sheppard. The verbal evisceration that inevitably followed made them think that the golden rule was a joke, some kind of ironic, sarcastic, play on the fact that Dr Rodney McKay is an obnoxious jackass that no one can possibly like.

Whenever that happens, whenever someone is caught rolling their eyes at the strict instructions to “remember the golden rule” before any mission that sees them accompanying AR-1, they are cut from the team and that very same night, a conclave is called.

They gather on subsection 4 of the East tower, a mix of military and civilian personnel, with grave faces and tales to tell, stories to share. In hushed, reverent tones, they begin.

* * *

Major Lorne coughed pointedly at his team, silently telling them all to stop staring. He didn’t blame them. It wasn’t often you saw your commanding officer on his knees in front of another man, checking the rigging of the chief scientists thigh holster, tightening and loosening the straps until he had it just right.

“Thank you, Colonel,” McKay said. “Because, of course, after two years, there’s no possible way that I could have figured out how to do this myself.”

If possible, the heavy sarcasm made Colonel Sheppard smile wider. “Just looking after my team,” the Colonel replied. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you out there after all.”

Lorne straightened up as Colonel Sheppard’s gaze turned on him, sharpening into something threatening for just a moment before he turned back to give McKay one last clap on the shoulder.

“I’ll see you in the mess hall at 1800 hours, McKay.  Don't be late.”

Lorne wasn’t the only person in the gate room who heard the silent “or else” that was directed at the members of AR-2. With a heavy sigh, he nodded at Chuck to dial her up.

“Ok, through the gate everyone. And remember the golden rule.”

Really, it wasn’t Lorne’s fault that the villagers of PX-672 decided that McKay was a resource they couldn’t do without. And, as his concussion attested to, he really had tried his hardest to keep them from taking him. Unfortunately, the rock that they cracked over his head was harder.

“Atlantis, come in, this is Major Lorne.”

“Lorne, this is Sheppard. What’s the situation?”

Lorne closed his eyes and tipped his head back to the sky, just for a second. Of course it would be Colonel Sheppard who answered; he’d probably been sitting in the control room in full gear since about thirty seconds after his team had walked through the gate.

“There’s been a slight misunderstanding with the locals, Sir,” Lorne hedged.

“McKay?” Sheppard asked, his voice controlled and tight.

“Taken, sir.” Lorne hunched in on himself as five seconds of silence followed.

“Stand by for back-up, Sheppard out.”

Lorne wasn’t at all surprised to see Colonel Sheppard leading Teyla, Ronon and five marines out of the event horizon thirty seconds later.

Sheppard’s eyes were hard and angry as he stalked towards Lorne. It was only when he clocked the still freely flowing blood on Lorne’s temple, the way Stevens was holding his clearly dislocated shoulder, Miller laying unconscious and prone in front of the DHD and the telling absence of Walker that stopped that anger being directed at Lorne.

“Get me up to date and then head back to Atlantis and report to medical.”

Lorne opened his mouth to protest.

“That’s an order, Major. Now stop wasting time.”

It wasn’t often that Colonel Sheppard pulled out the rank card so Lorne nodded, ignoring the way it made the world spin and made his report.

Four hours later, the nurse woke Lorne up for a cognitive check. As he blinked awake, he caught sight of Colonel Sheppard sitting ramrod straight on the bed opposite, thighs pressed against Dr McKay’s. Lorne could hear Dr McKay rambling about unnecessary visits and overprotective Colonels and he smiled. McKay sounded unharmed to him.

“PX-672?” he asked the nurse quietly.

He shook his head. “Dr Weir already wiped the address from the database.”

Lorne nodded, unsurprised. They had broken the golden rule after all, he wondered if Sheppard had left anyone alive. Sleep claimed him before he could ask.

* * *

Miko felt very privileged to be chosen for the Atlantis expedition. Dr Rodney McKay was a man who demanded excellence of everyone who worked with him and she, for one, was excited to have the opportunity to learn from him.

Dr McKay was a brilliant man and, like most brilliant people, he sometimes forgot to do the little things when he got wrapped up in a piece of work. Little things like sleeping, or eating, or taking care of himself.

Major Sheppard was one of the few people who, in Miko’s eyes, truly understood Dr McKay’s greatness. She had been pleased when Major Sheppard had chosen Dr McKay for his flagship gate team, pleased that Dr McKay’s worth was recognised by the military leader of the expedition, but what really pleased her was how Major Sheppard forced Dr McKay to look after himself.

The first time Major Sheppard had strode into the computer lab, grabbed the back of Dr McKay’s chair and wheeled him away from his computer screens and handed him a sandwich, Miko had smiled in approval as Dr McKay rolled his eyes and ate.

After that, Major Sheppard, soon followed by the Athosian, Teyla Emmagan, and occasionally Lt. Ford or some other member of the Atlantis military team if Major Sheppard was busy, were regular fixtures in the science lab during crunch time; making sure that Dr McKay ate every few hours, that he got at least five hours of sleep every night.

Miko nodded at Major Sheppard in the halls now, smiling at him and keeping him appraised of Dr McKay’s days, secure in the knowledge that after a bad day, Major Sheppard would know to look after him, racing remote controlled cars or playing virtual golf. She was happy to know that Dr McKay was so cherished.

Miko had not realised how far Major Sheppard would go to ensure Dr McKay’s well being until the incident.

There was a list of Dr McKay’s allergies on every notice board on Atlantis; even those few people who had never had the pleasure of talking to or working with Dr McKay found themselves able to recite each known allergen purely by osmosis. So, the kitchen worker who had forgotten to label the chicken salad sandwich with a lemon warning really had no excuse.

It had started with a tickle, a coughed out wheeze that pricked at Miko’s attention. She had a front row seat to see Major Sheppard’s face morph from the usual amazed amusement that watching Dr McKay eat invariably caused through to casual concern and into full blown fear as Dr McKay’s breathing slowed to a pained whistle.

Miko had made it a point to know where Dr McKay kept his epi-pens but it would appear that Major Sheppard had gone one step further and taken to carrying his own. Miko radioed quickly for medical attention while Major Sheppard pulled out his knife and ripped at Dr McKay’s trousers. She averted her eyes as Major Sheppard exposed the strong muscle of Dr McKay’s thigh and stabbed the epi-pen down with a sure, practiced movement. Dr McKay would not want her to see him this way, she knew.  She could only imagine him allowing one person to see him like this.  

When Dr Beckett and a medical team arrived and whisked Dr McKay away, Major Sheppard remained behind, staring at the offending remains of the sandwich with a look that spoke volumes of the realisation of how close Dr McKay had just come to death.

Miko had tentatively reached out to comfort Major Sheppard, her hand brushing against his shoulder, trying to soothe the tension held there. He had accepted the comfort for a second, leaning into it, before grabbing the sandwich and stalking out the room.

She was unsurprised to find the expedition-wide memo banning all citrus products from Atlantis in her inbox later. Nor was she surprised to hear that the staff member who had forgotten to label the sandwich correctly had been assigned the early morning bakery shift for the next month.

While she missed lemonade, she approved of Major Sheppard’s actions. She was glad to know that Dr McKay had someone looking out for him like he deserved. He was a very great man, after all.

* * *

Lt. Martin had been surprised at his orders to accompany the Wraith - the one that Colonel Sheppard had named Todd - through the Stargate to Earth. Hadn’t that been one of the things they were fighting to stop from happening for the past four years?

When he queried Major Lorne’s order, Lorne had looked at him and said one word.

“McKay.”

Really, there was nothing else to be said. This wasn’t Lt Martin’s first rodeo. He knew that where Colonel Sheppard was concerned, there was no solution too unthinkable when it came to McKay.

He didn’t ask why, and no-one ever told him. They didn’t have to; it was the golden rule for a reason after all.

Still, watching Dr McKay and the Wraith - he couldn’t bring himself to think of the Wraith as anything as innocuous as Todd - work on a computer program wasn’t exactly a riveting assignment, even if it did mean they were back in the Milky Way for a while.

It was this boredom that had him walking the corridors of the SGC that night. He found himself walking a perimeter, poking his head in on the lab that Dr McKay and the Wraith had taken over, frowning a little at the way the Wraith was bent over the computer looking weary and exhausted. From the lack of noise in the room he guessed that Dr McKay was taking a break so it hadn’t been unexpected to hear his voice coming from Colonel Sheppard’s hastily set up office.

What had been unexpected were McKay’s words. Lt Martin knew that there must be more to McKay than what he showed on the surface, there had to be for Colonel Sheppard to allow him to remain on AR-1, but he would never have thought the scientist capable of what he was suggesting to Sheppard that night.

( _At this point of the meeting, the gathered Lanteans would start to murmur and whisper amongst themselves, and Major Lorne inevitably had to quieten them down and motion for Lt. Martin to continue. Most of them - all but the unfortunate newbie that had necessitated the meeting - knew what was coming but Lorne didn’t know if any of them would ever be able to process it. Not really. He wasn’t sure if he would ever really be able to fathom it himself. Still, he quietened them down and settled in for the end of the story. Maybe this time, he thinks, he’ll understand what kind of love it takes to do what Sheppard did._ )

Lt. Martin had been impressed at McKay’s intention to sacrifice himself for his sister. It was a noble decision, one worthy of any marine but he didn’t need to hear the Colonel’s reaction to know that there was no way on God's green earth that Sheppard would allow that to happen.

The golden rule applied as equally to McKay as it did to everyone else.

Lt. Martin trailed after Colonel Sheppard when he left his office later, trailed him straight to the cell they were holding McKay’s kidnapper in and watched as his commanding officer closed his eyes and counted to ten before squaring his shoulder and pushing his way into the small, square room.

Later, when McKay walked into the lab just in time to see Henry Wallace’s body wheeled out, Lt Martin would feel a flash of anger at the surprise on McKay’s face. What did he expect would happen?

Everyone knew that Sheppard would do anything to protect McKay. Didn’t he know the golden rule of Atlantis?

* * *

A heavy silence always followed the end of Lt. Martin's recollection and Lorne would watch in satisfaction as the message sank in.

No one ever doubted how important McKay was when they heard that story. He knew that there were other meetings in Atlantis where, instead of using the event as a cautionary tale of just how far their CO would go to protect McKay, the story of how Sheppard talked a grieving father into killing himself was lauded as a romance for the ages.

He didn’t ask. No one told him.

All that mattered to Lorne was that he could rest a bit easier, knowing that all of Atlantis was on the same page, following the golden rule.

_You never, under any circumstances, let anything bad happen to McKay._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @randommindtime asked for some Rodney finding out about The Golden Rule.

Rodney hated being left out of the loop. He'd thought that being the Head of Science and Research and, therefore, absolutely vital to the successful operation of the mission and Atlantis, he would be privy to all aspects of the mission but, alas, no. So far today, he had caught five separate staff members whispering quietly about a meeting in the East tower and each one of them had clammed up quicker than Sheppard being forced to talk about  his family when they saw Rodney approach.   
  
He'd be furious if he wasn't so hurt by memories of similar incidents during high school and college, where he had been left out of everything extracurricular on account of his being so much younger than everyone else.     
  
His only comfort was that John didn't seem to know anything about the secret meeting either.   
  
"So what?" John shrugged Rodney's outrage off with a well practiced carelessness.    
  
"So what?!"  Rodney gaped.  "There's some secret meeting going on tonight that my scientists and your jarheads are trying to keep from us and you don't want to know what it's about?"   
  
John blinked.  "Wait, my soldiers are involved too?"   
  
"A-ha!"  Rodney smiled in victory.  "Tonight?" he asked.  John nodded, still frowning.  Rodney guessed that he wasn't quite as used to being left out of things.  "7pm, East pier, subsection 4.  I'll meet you by the transporter beside the locker rooms."   
  


* * *

John hadn't shown which, in retrospect, Rodney was glad of.  He had paced up and down the corridor outside the transporter for a good ten minutes before giving up and radioing the Colonel and got nothing but a harried " _Busy now, McKay_ " for his troubles.  Rodney had no idea what he was busy with - probably making eyes at the new 'gate tech that had arrived on the Daedalus last week no doubt - but decided that, whatever it was, it was John's loss and that he was quite capable of uncovering the secret behind the hush-hush meeting himself.   
  
Dr Kusanagi's voice was the first thing he heard when he exited the transporter, stronger and more confident than he thought he'd ever heard it before.  At first he was confused.  Was this some sort of lecture series?  If so, why hadn't he been invited?  Anything he'd have presented would have blown everyone else's out of the water.  He was halfway to barging in and demanding that the floor be ceded to him when he heard his name.   
  
His first thought when he realised that Miko was sharing the story of the time he’d had an anaphylactic reaction in the middle of lab four was that this was some kind of roast McKay meeting where people of Atlantis, scientists and military alike, gathered to make fun of him - it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened.

Strangely, he’d almost have preferred that.  He was used to being ridiculed and sniped about, it was almost expected now - even if it still sometimes hurt.  This, though; the way that they lined up one by one and shared stories of how Dr. Rodney McKay was to be protected at all costs; the preciousness of their words and the unflinching, unapologetic retelling of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard’s dedication to him...Rodney wasn’t prepared for this.

The galling thing was that it wasn’t even true.  Did these people not know Sheppard?  Never leave a man behind was practically tattooed on his forehead.  Rodney was no different than anyone else on the mission in John’s eyes.

If they didn’t think he would have decimated a planet to rescue any one of them or made sure that a potentially fatal allergen that could easily be lived without was banned from the city then they had a lot to learn about John Sheppard.

Rodney was practically vibrating with anger by the time one of the grunts stood to speak.  This insistence that he was special, that he meant anything to John beyond what a friend feels for another friend was hurtful in a way that the complaining about his temper or his arrogance or his receding hairline could never be.  

He’d learnt at a very young age that hope could be the most painful thing in the world.  

His anger only increased when the uneducated grunt that had the floor started speaking about one of the most terrifying ordeals of Rodney’s life.

He tried not to think about that trip to Earth if he could help it.  He’d come too close to losing Jeannie; he’d come too close to losing _himself_. Only Henry Wallace’s sacrifice had stopped him and - -

_John_ had done that for him.  John had talked a man into killing himself.  He had used photographs of Madison and the English teacher and he had actually talked a man into dying to save Rodney.

He had known that of course.  No matter how vehemently John had insisted that he had just _presented a situation_ , Rodney had known that he had convinced Wallace to kill himself.  To save Jeannie.  Right?

It had been too big a thing to comprehend then.  It was why he had let John off the hook and turned the conversation to food.  When in doubt, eat.  It was the Rodney McKay way.

Hearing the story from another perspective, listening to the weighted silence of the gathered crowd, Rodney really thought about it - all of it.

Taken on its own, it wasn’t especially damning but in conjunction with every other time that John had  - - he was a scientist above all things and the facts all pointed to one thing.

Rodney didn’t think he had ever run so fast.  Not when being chased by Wraith or arrows, not when the new batch of coffee arrived; then again, none of those things had been this important.

John’s face crumpled in concern when he answered his door.  Rodney knew he must look a mess, sweaty and red-faced and manic.  John looked a mess too.  Whatever had kept him from meeting Rodney earlier had evidently involved a copious amount of mud and grime but none of that mattered.  All that mattered was this.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come hit me up on [tumblr](http://buffycuddlespigs.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
